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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26109325">Over and over again</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/heavensweetheart/pseuds/heavensweetheart'>heavensweetheart</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Breathing words [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Romance, Ballroom Dancing, Dancing, Domestic Fluff, Drama &amp; Romance, F/M, Family Fluff, Flowers, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff without Plot, Gentle Kissing, Kissing, Lots of kissing, Neck Kissing, One Shot, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV First Person, Rain, Red String of Fate, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Rough Kissing, Stargazing, Teen Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Truth or Dare</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 06:40:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,521</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26109325</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/heavensweetheart/pseuds/heavensweetheart</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Yet ANOTHER series of loosely interconnected Zutara one shots inspired by different writing prompts. (Mainly kissing prompts.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Blue Spirit/Painted Lady, Katara/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Breathing words [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1700446</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>46</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Kissing cause of a dare</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This work in particular is a way to redeem myself in front of my own eyes  for works I think I didn't give my best to. (Don't get me wrong, I loved writing Unconfusing and A thousand timelines, but... I still think I could have done better. So I'm doing it now!)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Zuko</strong>
</p><p>Maybe we shouldn’t have let Sokka eat so much ice-cream after dinner.</p><p>“<em>Game time, again!</em>”</p><p>It is clear sugar gets him <em>hyper</em>.</p><p>“Sokka, isn’t it a little late for that?” Katara’s sleepy, her eyes are obviously at a struggle to keep themselves open.</p><p>Sokka’s, on the other hand, are lighted up like spotlights. “Don’t you know that it is never late for Game Time, little sis?” (Spirits, he looks like a maniac!) “C’mon, let’s go do windsurfing!”</p><p>“<em>What?</em>” I nearly choke. “You’re kidding, right? We can’t go do windsurfing at night!”</p><p>“Why not? We’re in a tropical island. What are we supposed to do, lay on the floor and stare at the ceiling?” His shrug is nonchalant as it gets, like <em>I’m</em> getting worked up over <em>nothing</em>.</p><p>“We are <em>hiding</em> in the island!” I emphasize. “What if somebody sees us?”</p><p>“Fine, then let’s go bungee-jumping.”</p><p>Perhaps the ice-cream just froze his <em>brain</em>.</p><p>And Toph picks up <em>this</em> moment for getting into the talk: “Or let’s better play Truth or Dare!”</p><p>“<em>Ooooooooh!</em>” I don’t know why, but Sokka’s smiley face gives me a <em>bad</em> feeling about this. “Toph, that’s brilliant!”</p><p>“Truth or Dare, really?” I parrot, skeptically. “Aren’t we a little old for that?”</p><p>“Speak for yourself, old man,” Toph pats me on the shoulder in her way to the courtyard, “Let’s do this outside, I’m getting <em>plenty</em> of <em>daring</em> ideas…”</p><p>This gets more terrifying with each word.</p><p>“Don’t worry, Zuko,” Katara follows in tow, “Maybe this is the chance for us to dare them all to fall asleep once and for all.”</p><p>***</p><p>“Alright. Sugar Queen, truth or dare?”</p><p>We’re sitting in circle at the courtyard of my family’s Ember Island house, directly under the full moon. If it wasn’t for it and the few lamps illuminating from the walkway, we would be in complete darkness.</p><p>The night is windy and cold, but not enough for it to be unpleasant.</p><p>“Truth.”</p><p>“Did you <em>really</em> had something with Haru?”</p><p>Katara’s sitting fairly into the shadows. Only a thin ray of the lantern’s golden light gets to her, delineating the right side of her face. An almost imperceptible glimmer mirrors in her eye.</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“<em>Darn it all!</em> I could put you a dare if I couldn’t <em>tell</em> you’re telling the truth!”</p><p>“My turn!” Katara brightens as Toph sulks. “Aang, truth or dare?”</p><p>“Truth!”</p><p>“You guys are ruining it!” Toph complains. “Where’s the fun in <em>any</em> of this if you don’t pick <em>Dare</em>?”</p><p>“We have nothing to hide,” Aang says with a shrug.</p><p>Toph reflects on this, her hand in her chin. “Fair point, Twinkletoes. But I know <em>someone</em> who <em>does</em>....”</p><p>Everyone turns silent after that.</p><p>It takes me more than I’d like to admit to realize that the stinging I’m feeling comes from <em>all</em> their eyes turned intently on me. Immobile, hooked. Even Toph’s staring at me like she just hit the royal Treasure Chamber.</p><p>“Who, <em>me</em>?” I shriek.</p><p>“Yep.”</p><p>“I’ve nothing to hide either!”</p><p>“It’s not that, Zuko,” Aang excuses himself, “it’s just that you’re not the most… <em>communicative</em> one. Take this as our chance to get to know you better.”</p><p>“Well said, Twinkletoes! Okay, Sparky. Truth or dare?” Toph’s gaze and matching smirk are disturbingly challenging.</p><p>“Um…”</p><p>“If you have nothing to hide then it shouldn’t be difficult to choose,” Katara teases.</p><p>My eyes narrow at her.</p><p>Bringing my knees to my chest, I cross my arms over them. “Fine. Truth.”</p><p>“Who was the last person you kissed?”</p><p>
  <em>What the – ?</em>
</p><p>“Don’t you people know what <em>privacy</em> is?”</p><p>“You just said you have nothing to hide.”</p><p>“I’m not <em>hiding</em> it,” I argue, “It’s just… that’s something from my past.”</p><p>“Fine then,” Katara intervenes. “Is there someone you would like to kiss right <em>now</em>?”</p><p>A loud heartbeat resounds in my chest.</p><p>“Hey! I felt that,” Toph says.</p><p>“Felt what?” I ask.</p><p>“<em>That</em>,” she remarks, clasping her fingers, “That weird heartbeat.”</p><p>“What weird heartbeat?”</p><p>“<em>Your</em> weird heartbeat.”</p><p>My face grows warmer by second, and my <em>‘weird heartbeat’</em> does nothing but increase – accelerate. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”</p><p>“Sparky’s in love!”</p><p>“Wha… <em>What?</em>” (Is it possible to die from embarrassment? It would be welcome at a moment like this!) “Of course I’m not! Of <em>whom</em> could I possibly be <em>‘in love’</em> with?” I chew the words out.</p><p>“You tell us.”</p><p>“You know what? I changed my mind, I choose Dare.”</p><p>Her green, blank eyes slowly rake me up and down. “I dare you to… kiss the person you’re crushing on!”</p><p>
  <em>What?</em>
</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“I can tell it is someone in this group…” her eyes squint in concentration, “but I can’t tell <em>who</em> it is.”</p><p>“Zuko has a crush on someone in here?” Aang’s face lights up with curious daze.</p><p>“Who is it?” Katara presses, her blue eyes – half silver blue, half indigo blue in the semi-light – sparkle with the same awe and anticipation. </p><p>Another loud beat triggers.</p><p>“<em>Oooooooooh…</em>” Understanding washes all over Toph’s face. “Now I get it.”</p><p>“Get what?” Katara questions.</p><p>Toph shakes her head.</p><p>“Nothing. And let’s better leave Sparky alone for the night. He’s right, we should respect his privacy some more.”</p><p>***</p><p>Katara sighs, relieved. “I knew they would all fall like rocks after a sugar rush like that.”</p><p>“It’s the last time we let them get <em>anywhere</em> near sugar,” I say, covering Toph with another blanket. (How <em>drained</em> someone has to be for falling asleep on the floor like that?)</p><p>(And enough to be snoring like Sokka’s doing!)</p><p>“Say, Zuko,” Katara eyes me cautiously, “What was it that Toph was talking about when she said you had a crush on someone?”</p><p>I freeze.</p><p>Each part of my body halts; save for my fingers, they tremble. I force them to occupy themselves by fiddling with the hems of Toph’s blanket.</p><p>“<em>Pffft!</em> It was just Toph messing with us, she obviously didn’t sense anything coming from me.”</p><p>Katara hums, wary. “If you had a crush on someone you would tell me, right? I mean… we <em>are</em> friends. Aren’t we?”</p><p><em>Friends</em>, I repeat inside my head.</p><p>My jaw pulses.</p><p>“What was that?” she inquires.</p><p>“What was what?” I say.</p><p>Take the plates the others took out for continue stuffing themselves outside the house. Rush to the kitchen.</p><p>“<em>That</em>,” Katara emphasizes following, standing at the kitchen’s door. “You tensed all of a sudden.”</p><p>“I didn’t,” I bite out, rubbing the plates roughly with soapy water.</p><p>“Why are you so worked up out of the blue?”</p><p>“I’m not!”</p><p>“Wait a minute…” Her brows furrow in a slight frown. “You…” The word stretches in her voice. “You <em>like</em> me?”</p><p>
  <em>Right. I should have remembered: Every time I think things can’t get worse, they do.</em>
</p><p>“Of course I like you,” I say, my eyes down. “We are friends, you just said it yourself.”</p><p>“I mean <em>like-like</em> this time. As in, more than friends.”</p><p>My fists ball tightly into themselves to keep my hands from shaking. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”</p><p>“You <em>do</em> like me!”</p><p>I don’t know what to make from the fact that she’s actually smiling at that, excitement colors her face.</p><p>“I already told you I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I repeat.</p><p>“Then why aren’t you looking at me?”</p><p>I freeze once more.</p><p>“I…”</p><p>Tight air chokes my lungs. I can’t talk.</p><p>I can’t move.</p><p>“I dare you to kiss me,” Katara’s voice cuts through it.</p><p>Now I <em>do</em> turn in one spin. “<em>What?</em>”</p><p>Katara’s smile is oddly pleased. Soft and kind, but somewhat triumphant, tricky, and expectant. As though this is <em>exactly</em> what she was looking forward to happen.</p><p> “What?” I croak again.</p><p>She shrugs. “You picked <em>Dare</em> earlier at the game, remember?”</p><p>I would<em> really</em> like to <em>not</em> remember. <em>At all</em>.</p><p>“Unless you’re chickening out,” she taunts.</p><p>I frown. “I am no chicken.”</p><p>One more shrug. “Then prove it.”</p><p>My mouth opens, but no sound comes out. It’d be easy to say I’ve got nothing to prove, but that wouldn’t really help me at this, right? <em>Nothing</em> can help you when it comes to teenage dares.</p><p>“So?” Katara pushes forward, taking a step closer to me. Aligning her eyes and lips with mine. “You have kissed someone before, right?”</p><p>“Of course I have!”</p><p>“Great! Show me what you got.”</p><p>I glare down at her.</p><p>She just smirks.</p><p>“Fine,” I say, “No big deal.”</p><p>“Mm-hmmmm…” her smirks deepens.</p><p>“Um… Can… Can you close your eyes?”</p><p>She complies.</p><p>Her face is peaceful, trusting; her factions are soft.</p><p>I lean forward and…</p><p>Her hands trap and pull at my jaw for <em>her</em> to kiss <em>me</em>. I only have time to steady myself holding on to her waist. (It feels slimmer under my grip.)</p><p>Our chests brush against each other as we stand so close. Katara’s skin and lips are smooth, her hands glide down my neck, caressing it until resting on my shoulders. Her kiss is calm, gentle. Slow. Our mouths mold together easily.</p><p>All the rest of the house fades away, I’m absorbed into the darkness of my closed eyes and the wetness of Katara’s lips. I always restrained myself from thinking about this – about kissing her, touching her. I thought they were things I would never get, that I wasn’t worthy of them. But when her arms climb and surround my neck, I feel like I belong. Like this is somewhere I’m supposed to be.</p><p>With her. Next to her. Feeling her.</p><p>My heart is pounding, I feel Katara’s hammering against my chest. The warmth of her skin vanishes the night’s coldness.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. “If you don’t rest, you won’t heal.”/“You’re trembling.”</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Zuko</strong>
</p><p>I groan. <em>It still hurts</em>.</p><p>“Relax,” Katara’s voice is cool and fluttering like the water she’s using for healing the wound Azula’s lightning made in my chest, “Breathe.”</p><p>“It’s hard to breathe when I have an injury above my lungs.” (I’ve been spending too much time with Sokka.) (And even laughing at my attempt of sarcasm hurts!)</p><p>I hiss.</p><p>Katara’s hand settles right on top of the meaty wound; her voice is somewhat reprimanding, sarcastic in response, but still smooth. “It’s not above your lungs. It’s not even above your heart, it’s in the space right beneath it.”</p><p>
  <em>Good to know.  </em>
</p><p>My eyes squeeze shut as my breathing grows forceful. It not only aches, it <em>scorches</em>; the electricity continues flowing and corrupting my organs from the inside out. Katara follows my breath along my heart rate. The words come out too dry out of my throat, like sand swept by the wind:</p><p>“<em>It hurts…</em>”</p><p>“I’m sorry…”</p><p>My eyes snap open at the wet dots crashing against my cheek. Katara is the one to brush her own teardrops from my face.</p><p>“Sorry… about that, too,” she says, “Don’t worry, I’m gonna make it stop hurting.”</p><p>Her hand leaves a trace of heat mixed with iciness once it leaves my face.</p><p>She directs her gaze to my wound setting her eyes in it with focus and fake indifference, it hardens her factions. Her brows furrow in concentration, but she’s moving too fast reaching for more water and medicine, she’s moving unsteadily, uncoordinated. There’s still a trail of dampness strolling down her cheek.</p><p>My voice comes out much easier this time: “Don’t cry.”</p><p>Saying that alone returns a share of relieved air to me.</p><p>Katara’s arms freeze all the way from her hands to her shoulders.</p><p>“It wasn’t your fault…” I continue, “… that I…”</p><p>“Zuko.”</p><p>The call for attention in my name is joined by her hand on the side of my jaw. Now she <em>is</em> looking at me, blue eyes intent on mine; they glow like the water channeling her healing powers. Her palm has calluses and small scratches and her skin is rugged for the water. (It feels good.)</p><p>“I’ve already told you,” she says, calmly, “relax. If you don’t rest, you won’t heal.”</p><p>(I wonder if she notices how my heart is racing with her hand that lingers on my chest.) I nod.</p><p>The silence weighs on us as we stare at each other. Katara’s eyes are somewhere between absent and fixated, they slowly roam through my face at the same pace her hand moves caressing it. I see her lips moving before I hear her say: “You’re trembling.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you enjoyed! And if you want to find out ways to help me to keep writing, please visit this post https://heavensweetheart.tumblr.com/post/628563499111661568</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. “We’re… just friends.”</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Pt.1</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Katara</strong>
</p><p>“Somehow, I always feel like I shouldn’t come to these parties.”</p><p>I turn to Zuko’s voice. “Well, it’s kind of hard to avoid coming to a royal party when you’re the <em>Fire Lord</em>,” I tease him, taking another sip my sugar cane shochu<sup>[1]</sup>.</p><p>“Funny,” he deadpans with an ironic smirk, “But being Fire Lord does little to improve my social skills. Not all of us can be gracious like a <em>certain</em> ambassadress.”</p><p>I hurriedly take one more sip of my drink to hide the blush heating my cheeks.</p><p>“But, you know, I feel ya,” I say. “It’s better when we are all together instead of Aang and Toph at the Earth Kingdom, Sokka back at the Tribe, Suki in a top secret mission in only <em>who-knows-where</em>…”</p><p>“If you keep going, I’m going to take it as if my company alone isn’t enough for you,” he smirks yet again.</p><p>I bump him on the shoulder.</p><p>He merely rubs it with his hand.</p><p>Looks like his mood is better already…</p><p>“Fire Lord Zuko!”</p><p>Oh, forget what I said; <em>ex</em> War Minister Qin is approaching us.</p><p>I turn around, (I don’t want to talk to that man.)</p><p>And I can tell from Zuko’s voice that he doesn’t either: “Evening, <em>Mister</em> Qin.”</p><p>(If I wasn’t standing so close to them, I could say that I’m imagining how tense Qin’s voice sounds.) (Even while I’m right <em>here</em>, I have to debate with myself if I’m hearing it properly.)</p><p>“My, don’t I miss my days as a royal functionary.”</p><p>“Like I told you the day of your departure, the Fire Nation is no longer in need of a ‘<em>War Cabinet’</em>,” the words sound acidic when Zuko pronounces them. “As you can see, it kept itself just fine without one for the past couple of years.”</p><p>“How could I forget such a decisive order that you gave?” Qin retorts. “It was the mere first day of your ruling.”</p><p><em>You go, Zuko</em>, I think, grinning.</p><p>“Glad that we have settled that then,” Zuko’s answer is not-so-disguisedly cheerful. “Are you enjoying the party? It is strange though. If I recall correctly, you didn’t keep much ties to the Palace.”</p><p>“That’s correct, actually, but one of the ties I kept was my position as a contributor to the government thanks to my new manufacture company. May I thank you for allowing me to keep my enterprise?”</p><p>Zuko’s voice is testy. “I played no part in the endurance of your enterprise.”</p><p>“Oh, but you <em>did</em>. I mean, lesser men would have shut such a beneficial establishment for the community out of <em>pure</em> spite.” I sneer imagining his disgusting smug face. “<em>I</em> wouldn’t even <em>be</em> here if you weren’t such a… <em>benevolent</em> ruler.”</p><p>I frown, Zuko hums impassively.</p><p>“Oh, my manners must be becoming rusty with the age,” fake dismay tints Qin’s voice. “Ambassadress Katara, you look beautiful tonight.”</p><p>I only look at him over my shoulder. Zuko moves slightly in my line of sight, as if to shield me from Qin’s gaze. I don’t need any shielding though, I <em>am</em> an ambassadress. I can handle myself.</p><p>Taking a deep breath, I spin around. “Thanks, <em>Mister</em> Qin.”</p><p>“I’m flattered that you remember me. I think we have only met once.”</p><p>“We have,” I press, “At the Northern Air Temple. You… uh… stole one of my friends’ inventions back then.”</p><p>“Right,” he chews out without a hint of regret or apology. “Such a beautiful dress you are wearing, by the way. It is so thoughtful of you to wear typical Fire Nation clothes during your visits out of respect for the country’s culture.”</p><p>I shrug. “It’s a pleasure to me.”</p><p>“Nevertheless, the attire would look better if you had opted for a different hairstyle,” his eyes wander over my head, studying my hair loops joined with the Fire Nation’s top knot, “and different choices of jewelry. They quite disharmonize with the dress.”</p><p>My hand goes to my mother’s necklace. “I think they harmonize <em>just fine</em> together. Clearly we have different views on what <em>harmony</em> means.”</p><p>Silence cuts through the three of us, not enough to push Qin apart unfortunately. He insists on watching Zuko and me with that god-awful smile on his face, awaiting for either of us to finally snap at him. I would like to tell him he <em>really</em> doesn’t want that to happen, the same way I would like to slice his ridiculous beard with an ice dagger. I do none. (Still, maybe if I cut his beard off, it wouldn’t be so bad to look at his face.)</p><p>“Fire Lord Zuko!”</p><p>The royal counselors make gestures for Zuko to approach them. He hesitates, his hand instinctively goes to mine. I’m pretty sure Qin notices, too. Zuko is swapping glances between us, trying to look for a way to not leave me alone with this jerk. I shake my head lightly.</p><p>
  <em>Don’t worry, I can handle it. </em>
</p><p>He nods just as lightly, and lets go of my hand to walk to the counselors.</p><p>Qin awaits until he’s out of earshot. “You seem quite close to the Fire Lord, Ambassadress.”</p><p>I shrug. “Just in a fair measure, I suppose.”</p><p>“Mind if I ask what exactly is the nature of your relationship?”</p><p>My eyes narrow to thin slits. “In fact, I <em>do</em> mind, considering that is none of your concern.”</p><p>“Perhaps not mine, personally, but it is quite of the Fire Nation’s concern, don’t you agree? The country is very…” his eyes wander through the room, “… <em>attentive</em> to the actions of their ruler.”</p><p>
  <em>That asshole! </em>
</p><p>I follow his stare to the sides, effectively there are plenty of party attendants shooting not-so-subtle inquisitive looks at us, and standing just a tad too close. They probably have been listening to our conversation all along. Now they’re waiting my answer.</p><p>My fingers tighten around my glass, I bite my lip. “We’re…” the word fades to air; it falls with a thud when I speak again, “just friends.”</p><p>The silence and the stares around me not only cut, they stab me.</p><p>Qin smirks. “I see. Congratulations on having such a close <em>friendship</em>.”</p><p>I <em>should</em> have warned him he didn’t want to see me snap.</p><p>But before I get the chance – “Thanks for your congratulations, Mister,” Zuko appears at my side, taking my hand, “I sure am grateful to have such a compassionate, kind, capable, talented, understanding, brave, strong and <em>beautiful</em> friend like Ambassadress Katara. Now, if you excuse us, I was meaning to ask her to dance.”</p><p>“Really?” My eyes go big.</p><p>“Really,” he assures, glancing at me.</p><p>I smile. “I would love to! Mister Qin, do you mind holding this for me?” I extend my hand holding my drink towards him. Now it’s <em>his</em> turn to glare.</p><p>“I am waiting,” I singsong.</p><p>As slowly as if the movement pained him, he ends up taking the glass. Without further word or acknowledgement, Zuko and I walk to the dance floor.</p><p>“Don’t you hate dancing?” I wonder.</p><p>“I’ve told you,” he reminds me, “I don’t mind dancing if it’s with you.”</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>[1] Shochu: A Japanese alcoholic beverage with a rather mild quantity of alcohol. </p><p>Hope you enjoyed! And if you want to find out ways to help me to keep writing, please visit this post https://heavensweetheart.tumblr.com/post/628563499111661568</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Ballroom/Dancing/Music</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Pt. 2 - Continuation of "We're... just friends."</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Zuko</strong>
</p><p>I do hate dancing.</p><p>I was also telling the truth, I don’t mind dancing if it’s with Katara.</p><p>The stares of the party attendants pierce my skin as we move through the ballroom; I fight them by looking only into Katara’s blue eyes, (her garnet red dress makes their color outstand further.)</p><p>It’s so like her to be so confident at occasions like this. I wonder if I should say something, mayhap something to let her know I really don’t mind having everyone watching us when I’m with her, but at the same time I <em>shouldn’t</em> feel insecure enough to reaffirm it. (Spirits, since when just dancing is so complicated?)</p><p>(<em>I</em> made it complicated.)</p><p>“I told you we don’t have to dance if you don’t want to,” she says catching my mood.</p><p>“No,” I answer firmly, but also almost pleasantly, “I <em>want</em> to dance with you.”</p><p>Her skirt and hair flow when she spins, and I catch her to continue the dance closer together. Katara’s an amazing dancer, it seems as if the music was specifically trying to please her. The room feels livelier, more colorful at the sole sight of her, like her colors were splaying all over it the more she moves and swirls. She almost doesn’t appear human. She looks like an ethereal yet alive soul.    </p><p>I have to fight to not remain so awestruck that I lose the rhythm. </p><p>We follow the pace and the steps together, holding and letting go of our hands, Katara spins and I catch her yet again. At moments, I turn deaf to the music, and can only see Katara dancing by herself. I’m spellbound.</p><p>She lands against my chest during the final compass. There’s a brief moment of silence and our breaths mixing before the room roars with applause.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you enjoy it! And if you want to find out ways to help me to keep writing, please visit this post https://heavensweetheart.tumblr.com/post/628563499111661568</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. “You already met my family so this saves you a traumatizing experience”/“You have something in your cheek. Um… Do you want me to take it away?”/“Remember that time when we hated each other?”/“I don’t know… maybe I’ve always loved you.”</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Katara</strong>
</p><p>I swear, I didn’t mean for it to come out as so much of a glass-shattering squeal: “Your mom thinks that we are dating?”</p><p>My eyes grow wide staring at Zuko’s face with disbelief. (How… Why…) (Why would Lady Ursa even <em>think</em> that?)</p><p>“Why would she even <em>think</em> that?” I say aloud. (Congrats to Zuko, he managed to shock me stupid.)</p><p>On his part, he’s only half-hysterical: “I don’t know. I don’t know what happened. Maybe it was something that Kiyi said – she’s always saying that you’re pretty and that she wants you and me to date – but it’s easier to brush it off when it’s <em>her</em>. It’s different now that is Mom!”</p><p>“Why didn’t you just tell her the truth?”</p><p>“I couldn’t tell her that!” He looks at me like <em>I’m</em> the one that’s talking crazy. “It would break her heart. She’s trying <em>so</em> hard to be like normal moms, she told me to bring you to a family dinner tonight and…”</p><p>“She <em>what</em>?”</p><p>Zuko freezes. He <em>obviously</em> didn’t intend to deliver that last part like that.</p><p>“Zuko, I can’t pretend to be your girlfriend in front of your entire family!” I argue.</p><p>It’s weird to say ‘family’ in this conversation. It’s weird to say it anywhere near Zuko lately. Sometimes the spark of hatred and fear ignites itself at the picturing of Azula and Ozai enclosed by that word, even if it’s getting easier to remind myself that his meaning of family now is Ursa, Ikem, Kiyi and Iroh – and Team Avatar, of course. A loving mother, a nice step-father, a sweet little girl, and his inseparable uncle. The clash between them and his father and other sister is monumental, I wonder how Zuko feels about it.</p><p>I wonder if he is comfortable calling anyone from his biological family – aside from Iroh – “family” at all.</p><p>“It’ll be only for one night,” he insists. “Then I’ll tell everybody we decided to go back to be friends. It’s the perfect plan!”</p><p>No, it isn’t.</p><p>I cross my arms over my chest to declare my impassiveness. </p><p>His hands come forward in a pleading gesture. “Please, Katara! If you don’t do it for me, do it for Kiyi. I told you, she <em>adores</em> you!”</p><p>I look away and tsk.</p><p>Then sigh.</p><p>“Fine, but it’s only <em>this</em> dinner – ”</p><p>“<em>Yes!</em>” (Geez, I didn’t realize how important this was for him – enough for him to come around and hug me <em>this</em> tight without asking permission for once.) (I’m not complaining though – not apart from the pain on my ribs. Ouch! – it takes a whole lot to bring out Zuko’s most assertive side.) “You’re the best!”</p><p>
  <strong>***</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Zuko</strong>
</p><p>The dinner is at the Ember Island house. Oddly, Mom feels the most at ease there, but she never says why.</p><p>A pulse of pain crushes my heart.</p><p>She never says <em>anything</em>. I only assume she likes the Ember Island house the most because we spent much lesser time there than at the Palace. Besides, I remodeled it, so it is different now than it was then.</p><p><em>Everything</em> is different now than it was then.</p><p>I land Druk in the external patio – which is basically just the jungle, but all this part of the island is private property – and help Katara get down from the saddle.</p><p>“So…” she starts, she has been careful to not ask much about why my family is here having fun while I’m at the Palace working, “Your family has stayed here for a few weeks now?”</p><p>I wonder if she can hear the note of sadness that my answer carries. “Yeah, more or less.”</p><p>“Life at the Palace must be lonely then.”</p><p>“That’s why I don’t complain when you come to visit,” I tease. “Even if you give me reasons to do so.”</p><p>Her response is to give a mild push back to my forehead with her fingers, her smirk is playful. Unexpectedly, considering the current thoughts coursing through my head, I laugh. It’s easy to laugh when Katara is near.</p><p>I get our luggage down. Mom insisted for there to not be servants around tonight because it would make everything “homier”. The thought makes my slight anger come back; what, exactly, is homey to her? A life that didn’t include royalty – me, to be more specific? I was her firstborn after all, I’m probably just a reminder of what she had to go through with Ozai, the reason why she stayed even when she wanted to leave.</p><p>She never wanted me.</p><p>I’m no stranger to feel guilt and anger at once, but it never is a pleasant combination.</p><p>“You okay?” Katara’s voice startles me.</p><p>“Sure, why wouldn’t I be?”</p><p>She hums suspiciously, yet lets it go.</p><p>“You think I picked the right outfit for tonight?” she asks, spinning around, making her skirt flow.</p><p>For once, she wasn’t sure what she wanted to wear – she’s always so fast to pick up clothes, always knows <em>exactly</em> what she wants to wear and to heck if other people don’t like it – but this time she tried dozens of outfits before we left the Palace. She said she wanted to cause a good impression tonight, no matter how many times I reminded her everybody had already met and loved her.</p><p>My eyes wander from the soft borders of her skirt – it’s layered and asymmetrical, showing a piece of her legs up to her knee-height on her right one – the dress is cut in a way that the top resembles only two straps tying themselves around her upper body, leaving her core exposed only at the ends of her ribcage, and then covers her chest knotting itself at the back of her neck. Her hair falls daintily around her shoulders…</p><p>When I return my eyes to her face, she has a curious yet knowing eyebrow arched my way.</p><p>I almost gasp. “Sorry! – I mean, you look great! – I mean, it is the… the <em>color</em>… the one that…”</p><p>She giggles. Druk somehow does so too, and she winks at him.</p><p>“My <em>excellent</em> taste in clothes has proven useful one more time,” she declares, turning around and making – more like <em>tapping</em> – her way to the house. “First rule of a believable couple: the boy should <em>always</em> drool whenever he looks at the girl.”</p><p>“I wasn’t drooling!” I claim, following her.</p><p>“Sure, whatever you say,” she sounds more amused than convinced.</p><p>“I wasn’t. And who told you that ‘rule’ anyway?”</p><p>“Sokka and Suki.”</p><p>
  <em>So we know it’s true.</em>
</p><p>“If it makes you feel better,” Katara says, “you also look great in your casual clothes.”</p><p>I blush. “Tha… Thanks.”</p><p>“It feels a little weird to come have dinner here with your family.”</p><p>“You have already met the rest of my family,” I say, putting down the bags and finally knocking at the door, “so this saves you a traumatizing experience.”</p><p>A strange, short silence comes after that.</p><p>“You have something in your cheek,” I observe. “Um… Do you want me to take it away?”</p><p>Her hand goes to her right cheek as a reflex, but she ends up agreeing: “Yes, please.”</p><p>I step closer and cup her face between my hands. Her eyes close once my thumb brushes under her eye, pushing away something that I can’t tell if it’s an eyelash or a piece of grass; maybe because I’m paying too much attention to the curve of Katara’s cheekbone. Her features are… interesting. Her expression is peaceful between my hands, with me so close. So trusting.</p><p>We both freeze at the click of the door opening and my mom’s giggly “Oh, my!”</p><p>
  <strong>***</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>Katara</strong>
</p><p>“Katara, meet the new doll that Zuzu gave me!”</p><p>It <em>is</em> hard, but I repress a laugh only enough to meet Kiyi’s new doll. “She’s beautiful, Kiyi! What’s her name?”</p><p>“Kiyi!”</p><p>“That name never loses its charm,” I say, welcoming human Kiyi to sit on my lap. Then I glance at Zuko next to us. “Just like <em>Zuzu</em>.”</p><p>This time I do laugh under the scrutiny of his attentive frown.</p><p>“You should have a doll named Zuzu,” I tell Kiyi.</p><p>“Yes!”</p><p>“Or better no,” Zuko intervenes. “It’s not as pretty as <em>Kiyi</em>.”</p><p> “No name is prettier than Kiyi,” she declares proudly, “But yours is close, Zuzu.”</p><p>Zuko used to hate that name. I know that, he has told me. He told me he <em>believed</em> he hated it, he had believed it so faithfully he thought those were his true feelings. But they weren’t. Azula only started calling Zuko that way when she was still a baby and couldn’t pronounce <em>Zuko</em>; now, when Kiyi says it, it only reminds him of the innocence buried very deep inside his sister. The one that shines brightly in this other sister.</p><p>“Your name is pretty too, Katara,” Kiyi continues looking up to me. “I’m gonna have a doll named Katara.”</p><p>“That <em>is</em> a pretty name,” Zuko seconds.</p><p>I blush. “Thanks. Hey, Kiyi, you want to hear the story of when I told your big brother to get lost when he asked to hang out with me and my friends?”</p><p>“Yes!”</p><p>Zuko doesn’t, he makes a face. “Kiyi, you have heard that story dozens of times.”</p><p>“That’s right,” I concede. “I better tell you about that time he learned firebending by dancing.”</p><p>“Really?”</p><p>“It’s no dancing, it’s an ancient art!” he debates.</p><p>“Isn’t dancing an art?” I counter.</p><p>“That’s different!”</p><p>“Okay then,” I shrug and return my eyes to Kiyi. “Then I’ll tell you the story of when he tried to tell a joke.”</p><p>“Remember that time when we hated each other?” Zuko asks my way.</p><p>I furrow my lips as if considering it. “Nope. Not really.”</p><p>“Why did you two hated each other?” Kiyi’s big, enquiring eyes go up to me.</p><p>“I’ve told you, your brother was a jerk.”</p><p>“He was,” Zuko agrees.</p><p>“But you’re good now,” she tells him, proud as with her doll. And then she looks back at me, “That’s why you’re in love with him, right Katara?”</p><p>My face heat to a million degrees – (kids; I tell you!) – and so does Zuko’s for the colors of it. We make that thing when we look at each other just enough to be even <em>more</em> embarrassed and look away.</p><p>“Of… Of course,” I say.</p><p>“Kiyi!” Lady Ursa calls from inside of the house, we are all sitting at one of the balconies, “Can you please come to help me put the table?”</p><p>Kiyi pouts. “Shoot!”</p><p>“C’mon, Kiyi,” I caress her hair, “That way we will eat early, and then we will spend all night playing.”</p><p>She beams at me. “You promise?”</p><p>“I promise.”</p><p>“Yay!”</p><p>Her tiny steps resound when she runs off.</p><p>“Told you she adored you,” Zuko reminds me.</p><p>“She adores you more,” I say.</p><p>His faint smile and shrug are more melancholic than happy. The beach blows his hair bangs, framing his face in a way that makes his jaw look squarer, more mature.</p><p>“Thanks for doing this for me,” he pushes a strand of hair to behind his ear, “I owe you one.”</p><p>“You owe me <em>a lot</em>,” I clarify.</p><p>“Right.”</p><p>Though I add: “I don’t mind, really. Your mom is very nice, and Kiyi is wonderful. Besides, if you had told me Iroh would be here too, I would have said yes faster.”</p><p>His grin is relieved, but it still has some of that sadness from before. It has been there ever since we arrived.</p><p>“Mom says Uncle is the only member from the royal family that she liked,” he explains.</p><p><em>The only member</em>.</p><p>I see.</p><p>“Do you… Do you like being around your mom?” I venture, combing a strand of my own hair out of the way. Nightfall is coming slowly, but the wind grows cold quickly.</p><p>Zuko shrugs simply. “As much as I can, I suppose, considering she barely ever talks to me. It’s not that I can blame her, she <em>has</em> her own family to take care of.”</p><p>My gaze drops. <em>Yeah, I see</em>.</p><p>“Have you tried asking her to talk?” I wonder. “Even if she doesn’t start it herself.”</p><p>“I wouldn’t know what to say.”</p><p>“Whatever you want.”</p><p>“What I want is selfish,” he says. “I want to ask her how could she forget me, but I already know the answer. It’s better to forget painful things. She used to say I looked a lot like Ozai when I was a kid, I wonder how she sees me now.”</p><p>“You look nothing like Ozai.” <em>Your eyes shine brighter</em>, I want to say.</p><p>“Thanks,” he smiles, faintly yet again, “But Mom didn’t use to see it that way, and she didn’t like Ozai... Ha! What a joke! My mom didn’t even <em>like</em> my father. I’m a permanent reminder of the time she was forced to sleep with the guy she loathed the most. No wonder she would forget me without thinking it twice.”</p><p>“Zuko, that’s not true.”</p><p>The wind pushes the strand of his hair from behind his ear and this time I’m the one that brushes it back, letting my hand linger on the side of his face.</p><p>“You already learned that you are not – neither you have to be – your father,” I say. “Maybe now you need to learn that you simply are not any of your family members, and you don’t have to be what they believe you to be. You are your own person, and you’re in your right to feel the way you feel about certain things. But if you never tell the people you care about how you feel at all, how are they supposed to know what’s going through your mind? Love isn’t perfect all the time, but you can teach the people you love how to make it a bit better.”</p><p>The beach sounds too close and too far away at the same time. Zuko’s skin is warm, it always is.</p><p>Suddenly it doesn’t feel like it is night anymore. The sun is in his eyes.</p><p>“Kids, dinner is ready!” Ursa’s voice exclaims.</p><p>***</p><p>
  <strong>Zuko</strong>
</p><p>The dinner went on surprisingly nice considering everything. Mom truly did her best to make Katara feel included, and Uncle just makes everything better – he speaks the most so I don’t have to do it. And Katara also made good on her promise to play with Kiyi all night… or at least until Kiyi passed out around two hours after dinner.</p><p>“She must have eaten too much dessert,” Katara whispers while she accompanies to take Kiyi’s sleeping body hanging on to my neck to her respective room, “She’s too stuffed.”</p><p>I chuckle, rubbing Kiyi’s back to keep her soothed. “Mom says she has always had lots of energy and lots of appetite. I guess one of those two has to cede sometimes.”</p><p>“She looks so cute asleep,” Katara points out staring at Kiyi’s drooling face. Then at me. “Do you want to have children?”</p><p>I hesitate. “Um… I don’t know, I never thought about it.”</p><p>“<em>I</em> want,” she affirms. “If I have a daughter, I’ll name her Kya. I haven’t decided on a boy name yet.”</p><p>“Well, if <em>I</em> had a boy,” I intercede, “I would name him Iroh.”</p><p>“Awwww!” she coos. “You know what? If I have a boy, I’ll name him Iroh, too!”</p><p>“Two Iroh’s?”</p><p>“Three if we count your uncle. You think it will bother him?”</p><p>I shake my head. “He will be delighted.”</p><p>She brightens at my answer and we get Kiyi to her bedroom. (Even asleep, she puts on a struggle to keep holding on to me.)</p><p>“Thanks again for tonight, Katara,” I say – (for a hundredth time this night) – closing the door, “I do owe you a lot.”</p><p>She smiles indulgently and shakes her head. “Don’t worry about that. Tonight was fun.”</p><p>“Right.”</p><p>Another short, peculiar silence settles in.</p><p>“I suppose I could tell them we broke up after a few days,” I (try) filling it. The words make me sick to my stomach. “For… the shock to not be so big.”</p><p>“Right,” Katara’s teeth click.</p><p>The silence stretches to torturous lengths.</p><p>“Maybe I could keep pretending to be your girlfriend for a few more days,” she suggests. “For… not spoiling everyone’s fun so fast.”</p><p>My eyebrow raises. “You would do that?”</p><p>“Yeah. I mean… for a few more days.”</p><p>“Days can easily turn into weeks.”</p><p>“Yes, I suppose… We could keep these going for a month or so. It’ll be fun.”</p><p>“Fun,” I deadpan, looking down.</p><p>My eyes return to Katara. “Won’t it be a little weird, if we keep pretending we are a couple for a month or so?”</p><p>“It’s only weird if we make it weird.” She combs a strand of her hair behind her ear and then pulls it back to her face. “There’s another option though… but it’s crazy.”</p><p>“What other option?”</p><p>“It’s the craziest, we could… we could start dating for real. That way it wouldn’t be pretending.”</p><p>
  <em>Dating for real. Dating Katara.</em>
</p><p>She giggles nervously. “See? I told you it was crazy.”</p><p>“I… I have done plenty of crazy things before.”</p><p>Her gaze whips towards me, her eyes wide like plates. However, her nervous giggle comes out again. “You know, that’s funny, because I’ve done many crazy things before, too.”</p><p>“So… we could do this one crazy thing together.”</p><p>“Yeah, it’s less crazy if we do it together.”</p><p>The silence is no longer uncomfortable, it is filled with contentment. Thrill.</p><p>“So, I guess we are a couple now,” I say.</p><p>“Shouldn’t couples kiss?”</p><p>“Right. Um… Close your eyes.”</p><p>She complies with a soft smile.</p><p>I take her face between my hands like I did this afternoon, and sweep my lips over hers.</p><p>A spark sizzles through them, so quickly that I would think I had imagined it hadn’t it been so strong. It left my lips tingling, so I caress them against Katara’s once more. And more, and more. They grow softer and warmer; Katara’s become throbbing, swollen. Her hands come to hold on to my waist.</p><p>I wonder what is she thinking. If she is asking herself if I wanted this since before, since when.</p><p><em>I don’t know</em>, I answer inside my head. <em>Maybe I’ve always loved you.</em></p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you enjoyed it! And if you would like to help me to keep writing please, please, PLEASE check out this post: https://heavensweetheart.tumblr.com/post/632654389312651264/doing-a-little-update-here-i-thank-all-the-ones</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Please see the following link:<br/>https://heavensweetheart.tumblr.com/post/627449574587596800/hey-there-to-all-my-lovely-followers-im</p></blockquote></div></div>
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